Australian idol preaching series

Leithcote Flickr

O.K. – here’s the scoop.I’m charting out preaching for 2010 at the moment. Romans – locked in. Summer series on Heresies and how to avoid them – locked in. Something Old Testament – not there yet. Something topical – Australian Idols – looking at idolatory in 21st Century Sydney.

SO here is where my prep is up to…

I’m enjoying reading Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller at the moment. He looks at the empty promises of money, sex, and power as a form of idolatory. Not things of stone and wood but still things that assume mythic proportion in individual lives and socity. We still make sacrifices, children are placed upon altars of success, lives are given in service of mammon. Keller helpfully takes us to the Bible to see the way it uses the language of idolatory to assess our hearts desires and hopes. It is a great read in light of the GFC. Keller also spoke at the 2009 Gospel Coalition Conference on The Grand Mythologizer: the Gospel and Idolatory

Keller acknowledges his debt to David Powlinson, particularly to this infulential article – Idols of the Heart and Vanity Fair.

Another footnote worth chasing is the Puritan writer David Clarkson, and his (enormous) sermon ‘Soul Idolatory excludes men from heaven’

My old Sunday School teacher, Brian Rosner (now a lecturer at Moore College) wrote  Greed as Idolatory a few years back.It is one of those books worth having & lending all the time.

I’d also like to chase GK Beale’s We become what we worship: a biblical theology of Idolatory (his Revelation commentary was very very helpful).

Augustine is next on my list to get to.

What each of these is telling me though is that there is a wealth of biblical material on idolatory (& maybe I should have looked there first! Piously, I’d like to say I did but the truth is I’ve been looking at secondary stuff as I decide whether to do the series. All of the sources I’ve mentioned take you to Scriptures quickly. Of course I’ll then need to check what they may have ommitted or skewed)

When you look at Romans 1 you see it not just a sin amongst others, but something basic to sin itself. All sin flows from idolatory – a chasing of created things rather than the creator. False loves. Flase beliefs. False hopes. The tragedy is that the idol may not be a bad thing but must not become an ultimate thing – God gives us sex, family, money, power etc to be used and enjoyed but not worshipped.

So if you were choosing some Australian idols for a sermon series what would they be? What do you see people worshipping? What are you tempted to pay homage to yourself?

 

Is gambling a problem for you?

Johnnyb4 flickr

Today our nation stops to watch a horse race. Well, not just watch. You also want to have a punt. Plenty of people who bet no other day will bet on this day. The office sweep goes around and everyone else kicks in – why wouldn’t you? The papers will all have lift out sweeps. The TAB & Casino will have special staff on hand to help those not sure how to part with their money. The news last night featured the high rollers putting down $400,000 bets.

There is something quinteseentially Australian about betting on the big race (and something puritanical and WOWSERish about not taking part).

My Dad worked for an SP bookie when he was a kid. I ran a book at school and sold tickets for the Calcutta Sweeps. I’ve got very clear memories of the year Kiwi won the cup in 85 – running from outside and behind to pass half the field – I think it won at 50/1 – I had a friend who’d got $5 on it.

And we had horses at home. Not racehorses. But there were always horses around. A mate’s dad had a Caulfield Cup winner, one of the school families had the cup favourite one year. Seeing racehorses in the flesh is very different from TV. The muscles just ripple under the skin in huge waves. Their temparent varies but even the untrained eye can see this doesn’t look like anything that will go slow. To see them close together, thundering down a straight is a thrill.

Holding a ticket is exciting. I’ve never wagered much at all. I made more money as school bookie than I ever did making a bet myself. But even a small wager lets the adrenaline kick in. You can feel the disgust as your sweep drawn favourite dies in the first mile. Or your heartbeat can start to race as your outsider is into 5th and moving forward in the final straight.

But today I won’t be watching. I will kind of miss it. Its my own little protest against the evils of gambling. I know it sounds like Captain Killjoy but gambling is such an enormous problem in Australia that I can’t be party to it. $140m was wagered last year on the Cup. Nice for those with TAB shares but misery for the families of problem gamblers.

Its not just the consequence is wrong either. To wager a bet is to commit yourself to fate. Augustine has a few great chapters in City of God where he rails against belief in fortunas, felicity, and fate. The universe is not held in their hands. Instead our Father holds everything in his hands. We’re to entrust ourselves to him rather than have a false belief in fate.

There are much better causes to give to than the TAB. Why not have your own little protest and give $20 to a charity of your choice today. You’ll feel good. You won’t have to queue. And you can tell everyone you backed a winner.

How do you feel about the big race? I gambling a problem for you?

 

21st C Heresies

I’m planning a sermon series on heresy. I was inspired by the Haurewas edited book Heresies and How to Avoid Them. The Hendrickson site has a free chapter download on Arianism & Intro to book along with TOC. In that book (which I’m yet to receive from The Book Depository) the following are tackled:

What don’t Christians believe?
Is Jesus really divine?
Is Jesus really human?
Can God suffer?
Can people be saved by their own efforts?

Adoptionism–did Jesus become the Son of God at his baptism?
Docetism–was Jesus really human or did he just appear to be so?
Nestorianism–was Christ one Person or a hybrid with a divine dimension and a human dimension?
Arianism–was Christ divine and eternal or was there a time when he did not exist?
Marcionism–is the God of the New Testament the same as the God of the Old?
Theopaschitism–is it possible for God to suffer in His divine nature?
Destroying the Trinity–does God have a simple or a complex nature?
Pelagianism–can people save themselves by their own efforts?
`The Free Spirit’–are there two kinds of Church membership, one for the elite and one for the rest?
Donatism–do Christian ministers need to be faultless for their ministrations to be effective?

Help me! What heresy would you pick? (No defamation or nastiness please)

I’m after 4 or 5 heresies – what they are? who taught/teaches them? why they are attractive? why they are wrong? what is the truth? what modern guise do they come in?

It is too easy to be naiive about heresy – imagine it could never here and think it is only of arcane interest to theological interest. Most heresy seems to spring out of a desire to simplify something the bible holds in tension – asserting one truth against another.

Conor (who has just had a son – congratulations Conor & Sarah!) wants to do Pelagius – the 5th Century British theologian who denied original sin – “sin really isn’t as serious as that dour Augustine teaches, just pull up your bootstraps and be good”

G.K. Chesteron reminds us here why heresy matters:

It is foolish, generally speaking, for a philosopher to set fire to another philosopher in Smithfield Market because they do not agree in their theory of the universe.  That was done very frequently in the last decadence of the Middle Ages, and it failed altogether in its object.  But there is one thing that is infinitely more absurd and unpractical than burning a man for his philosophy. This is the habit of saying that his philosophy does not matter, and this is done universally in the twentieth century, in the decadence of the great revolutionary period… We will have no generalizations.  Mr. Bernard Shaw has put the view in a perfect epigram:  “The golden rule is that there is no golden rule.” We are more and more to discuss details in art,politics, literature. A man’s opinion on tramcars matters; his opinion on Botticelli matters; his opinion on all things does not matter.  He may turn over and explore a million objects, but he must not find that strange object, the universe; for if he does he will have a religion, and be lost. Everything matters–except everything.

 

A preaching series on Romans

I’m putting the 2010 Preaching Program into shape at the moment and have just drafted this preaching program for Romans. Thanks to those who commented on previous post & helped shape this. You’ll be able to do the source critical work and spot the plagiarism.

1.1-17             The Gospel, according to Paul
1.18-32          The pagans need the gospel
2.1-3.9           The religious need the gospel
3.9-20           Everyone needs the gospel
3.21-26         Why the Gospel is the best news you’ll ever hear
3.27-4.25     The Gospel demands a response of faith

5                     The Gospel gives you a life of assurance
6.1-7.6           The Gospel gives you a life of change
7.7-25            The Gospel gives you a life of struggle
8                     The Gospel give you a life of real hope

9.1-29            Why predestination is good news
9.30-10.21    Why sincerity is not enough
11                    God’s master plan for the world

12.1-8             A church with living human sacrifices
12.9- 21          A church shaped by love
13                    A church that loves the world
14.1-15.13      A church of perfect freedom
15.14-16.27    A church of gospel mission

Any more thoughts?

My next challenge is to fit it into a calendar.

 

They found a body

Jonnyr1 Flickr

They found a body wrapped in a bag. Left in the bush near our place. As I type this the helicopters are getting their shots.

I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God has God made man.Genesis 9.6

When a whale or a dog or a possum dies that may be sad, but they aren’t image bearers of God. How evil when a divine image bearer’s blood is shed.

 

Synod Day 4

There is a reason they put Parliamentary TV on in the middle of the night. Only the hardest-of-hard-core political junkies watch live webcasting of the Commonwealth Parliament and its Committees. Much that happens in Parliament is dull, dull, dull. Long tedious poring over the minutia of amendments, acts, regulations. Debates on procedural motions that need rulings from the Speaker. Most of us never see this. Instead we see the door stop interviews, the carefully crafted Question Time sound bite, the commentators piece to camera after hours of debate.

What has this got to do with our Synod? Well sometimes Synod can feel more than a teensy bit dull too. Today was a case in point. Some of us backbenchers were suffering Synod Fatigue on Day 4.

That is not to say it isn’t important. Plenty today was – centralizing the support of Tertiary ministry, hearing about the protection of Religious Freedom (more of that tomorrow), procedures to prevent bullying in the Parishes, and more.

But none of it produced the wonderful debates Synod is capable of. No soaring oratory. No great moments of tension wondering which way a debate would swing. And that’s O.K. Just like our national parliament (although without the partisan spirit) there are days that you just need to grind through, knowing that down the track the work of Synod will be of service.

If you stop for just a minute to consider the sheer volume of the legislation the Synod considers, you get a small insight for how much work goes on in Synod’s Committees, in the Secretariat, in the work that individual members put in. All those bits of paper are drafted by someone. It may be hard work for us to keep concentrating on them, but how much harder to draft them!

The market for live webcasting of Synod may be a miniscule one – the public gallery usually has enough spare seats! But don’t be deceived. Even the dullest day can produce legislation with far reaching consequences for our life together.

 

When it rains heavily at church…

Kapungo Flickr

The heavens opened at church this morning. The sun was shining on the way in but it poured down afterwards. People were trapped, not game to dash to their cars and be drenched. The kids had a hoot. People chatted for ages and met people they hadn’t met before. Conversations went past the usual rushed catch up. The last people left 10am church at 1pm.

We should pray for rain like this more often…

 

Kurt Elling is the man

I could listen to Kurt Elling all night.

I’d trade a finger or two to have his voice.

Do yourself a favour and enjoy.

 

Shame John Saffran, shame

Never complained to a TV station about program content before but this one couldn’t be ignored. For those that missed it John Saffran, who is Jewish, and his sound man, who is Palestinian secretly swapped sperm in an Israeli then Palestinain Sperm Bank. While the vision of them masturbating on camera wasn’t great television it was the consequences of this that got me riled. There was absolutely no thought or responsibility given to the children they may be bringing into the world.

This is what I just shot off to the ABC:

ABC Contact Information

Contacting the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Contact the ABC » Email the ABC » Record of Correspondence

Record of Correspondence

Please print out the following record of your recent correspondence with the ABC:

Correspondence Date: 23/10/2009 17:51 AEST
Firstname: Michael
Surname: Kellahan
Email:
Location: NSW
Response Required: true
Program: John Saffran race relations
Program Date: 22/10/2009
ABC Service / Network: ABC Television
ABC Recipient: Audience & Consumer Affairs
Subject: John Saffran
Your Comments: There were a lot of reasons not to like John Saffran’s race relations but the one I want to pick up is the sperm donation.
What was he thinking?
Did he actually disclose what he’d done to the Sperm Bank?
Was he in breach of Israeli law?
Did he give any thought to the child/ren he or his soundman may have fathered?
In his race to push the envelope and get ratings he may have brought a child into the world that will have to live with this stunt forever. Its one thing to point out the ethics of mixed or mono-ethnic partnerships. Its quite another to bring what may now be an unwanted child into the world to prove the point. Why didn’t you make it a blood transfusion? Point made but no harm.
Wouldn’t it be a difficult enough situation already for a couple wanting a child. Now, John’s vanity means their genetic wishes are just ignored. What gives him the right to impose his moral framwork on this couple. And what of his child/ren? Will they get the joke? How will life be for them if they’re obviously of a mixed marriage? John doesn’t know or care. He’ll have moved on, oblivious of the son or daughter he’s brought into being.
I’ve never seen such a selfish, foolish, arrogant thing done on TV. My hope is that the joke was on us and that he went back and did the right thing – letting the sperm bank know how he’d lied to them.
I will not watch another show in the series. Shame really. Its an important subject worth exploring. Shame on you ABC for running it. This is far far worse than the Chaser stunt or Hey Hey.

© 2008 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Copyright information: http://abc.net.au/common/copyrigh.htm
Privacy information: http://abc.net.au/privacy.htm

 

How do you choose a musical instrument for your child?

How do you choose a musical instrument for your child?
Our 8 year old needs to sign up for the school band.
We need to say what we want him to learn.
His preferences (this week) are trumpet and trombone.
We have a trumpet & piano & access to drums. We can hire other instruments from school.
He doesn’t have the world’s longest attention span.
We’d like him to play at church one day
We want him to enjoy it & keep playing
I did find this BBC site helpful but would be VERY grateful for any advice or tips
I’m after the wisdom of the tribe on this one. If we get a few comments I’ll throw up a poll.

10 points for the first person to suggest tuba.